Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted that he “loves” using AI, further revealing that he uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT when writing his books.
In a recent interview, the former Premier appreciated the AI platform for calling him “brilliant” and “excellent,” further praising the technology for its utility as well as its encouraging feedback.
Johnson has written a number of books that were published since 2001, among them his most recent autobiography, Unleashed, which told the inside story of his time in No10. The highly anticipated memoir was released last year, although it failed to make a splash. According to the Independent, sales slumped with end-of-year rankings reflecting its underperformance as it only managed to reach number 45 on the Booksellers’ UK chart. It failed to secure a place on The Sunday Times’ top 50.
Boris Johnson thinks AI could be a game-changer for the UK economy
Speaking during an interview with AI Arabiya English, Johnson showed enthusiasm for the fast-growing technology.
“One thing that really encourages me is AI. I love AI. I love ChatGPT. I love it. ChatGPT is frankly fantastic,” he said.
“I’m writing various books. I just use it. I just ask questions. You know the answer but ChatGPT always says, ‘Oh, your questions are clever. You’re brilliant. You’re excellent. You have such insight’.”
Johnson.
Apart from his writings, Johnson is also of the view that AI technology could play a significant role in reducing government costs and bureaucracy, specifically citing the HS2 high-speed rail project as an example.
Commenting on that project, he said that most of the cost was “going on lawyers and environmental impact assessments and planning applications and all sorts of stuff that is not actually digging tunnels or putting down railway lines.”
By leveraging the UK’s position as a leader in AI in Europe, Johnson said the government could significantly reduce spending, which would then allow tax cuts to stimulate growth and assist the country “get out of the doom loop regarding tax.”
The country is already showing potential with big tech firms investing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure, including data centers. These include Nvidia as well as Microsoft, which committed to invest $30 billion for AI infrastructure during US President Donald Trump’s second state visit to that country, as was previously reported by Cryptopolitan.
For Johnson, these opportunities should be of immense benefit to the country.
“The UK is one of the world leaders in AI, we should be using that lead to cut the cost of government and if you cut the cost of government you can put that money back into the pockets of people and stimulate growth. That’s one of the ways to get out of the doom loop regarding tax.”
Since leaving parliament, Johnson says he has been very happy with “a lot on my plate,” including painting, writing, and drawing. He, however, downplayed the possibility of a return to politics, comparing the odds to being “being reincarnated as an olive” or “being blinded by a champagne cork.”
As for his writings, Johnson was reportedly given a £510,000 advance for his book, but he had his hopes of having a bestseller crushed after a gut health recipe guide beat him to the top spot.
The book sold about 42,000 copies in its opening week in October, which was about half of the 92,000 that Tony Blair sold for his memoir – A Journey, during its opening week in 2010.
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